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Can We Live Without Government?

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders explore the role that the government plays in the lives of its citizens.
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Declaration of Independence and Acts of Courage

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students examine the trait of courage. In this Declaration of Independence instructional activity, students discuss what it means to be courageous and identify the courageous acts the signers of the Declaration showed. Students research...
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Photojournalism: A Record of War

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore who has photographed war and why. They examine Mathew Brady's process for photgraphing the Civil War. Students investigate how photographic equipment has changed and improved through time. They analyze primary source war...
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Civil War Photojournalism: A Record of War

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students view photographs of the Civil War. In this photojournalism lesson, students look at Mathew Brady's photographs of the Civil War. They discover the evolution of photographic equipment and analyze Civil War photographs. 
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The Holocaust: Concentration Camps

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders, after reading a variety of passages and watching a video on "Children Remember the Holocaust," explore the concept of brutality of deportation and analyze conditions in concentration and death camps. They review maps and...
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PUBLIC POLICY AND THE GOVERNMENT

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students analyze the pros and cons of public policies. They analyze how public policy issues are influenced by government actions (e.g., transportation, the environment). They research the elements and requirements of the...
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The Race to Learn

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars explore the history of education and race in the United States. By researching Supreme Court cases dealing with race and education, students examine the ways in which these cases have reflected changing social and cultural...
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Electoral College

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders discover how the Electoral College works. In this presidential elections activity, 11th graders compare and contrast the Electoral College and popular vote as they participate in a classroom simulation. Students also...
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Masking the Truth

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the artistic and social significance of African masks. They create their own masks that reflect an important aspect of moving in their lives.
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Living Legacies

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the contemporary commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., research the positive impact another famous person has had on society and the images that best represent the actions and beliefs of that person.
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Political Puzzles

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate how different liberal democracies around the world organize their governments and decide major policies. They compare their findings to the American political system, using examples of current political issues.
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It's Just a Game?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider their attitudes toward concrete and abstract violence in the media before developing hypotheses that assess the effect of gender and age on people's attitudes toward such violence and designing a survey to test those...
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Losing Face or Saving Face?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the recent partial face transplant in Ameiens, France and the ensuing public debate on extreme plastic surgery. They participate in a fishbowl discussion on the ethics and implications of future face transplants.
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Cultural Capital

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research the adaptation and acculturation of immigrant groups in the United States. They create culture capsules aimed at preserving the cultural heritage of new peoples in American society.
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Love, American Style

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the cultural diffusion of American popular culture around the world and create collages of visual representations of this phenomenon. Causes and effects of the cultural diffusion of American popular culture around the...
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Know Bones About It!

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students make a model of a major skeletal muscle group. They consider how their life might change if they didn't have, or lack use of, this particular muscle group.
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Armchair Travelers

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students consider how other countries and cultures influence furniture and home furnishings. They create a design plan for a particular room using the influences of a particular country.
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"I Cannot Tell a Lie"

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine and debunk historical myths, using the American Revolution as a starting point. They create and play a game of "American History: Fact or Fiction?"
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Always Remember, or Eventually Forget

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine one writer's opinion about how different generations of Japanese citizens have been influenced by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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INVENTIVE LIVES

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider the qualities that inventors possess and explore the history and uncertain future of U.S. innovation by reading and discussing the article "Are U.S. Innovators Losing Their Competitive Edge?"
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Soulfully Remembered

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study about the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead to explore another culture's attitude towards death. They create collages reflecting the interests of and memories about someone who has passed away.
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Printing Error

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the controversy surrounding recently published Danish political cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
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Somewhere in the Middle

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners investigate the cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon in August of 2006. The geographic region known as the Middle East is examined and maps created with information on border and territory disputes.
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Settling Down

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate the Umoja shantytown in Miami, Florida as well as other shantytowns around the world in order to create a Web site bringing awareness to the issue of slum dwelling.